Why does everyone want to spend MORE time in class?

Felons should be given a second chance by society, if they don't get a second chance do you know what they are going to do? - Yep they are gonna commit more crimes, break into YOUR house, steal YOUR things, rob YOUR family, just to survive. If a felon applies for 50 jobs and isn't given a chance to turn his life around - well be ready for him to come and commit a felony on you cause that's the only chance he has left to survive. By the way trucking companies have NO PROBLEMS hiring an immigrant who just came to this country WITHOUT checking his work history, criminal history or ANYTHING from the country he came from! An American who made a mistake or might of been unemployed for a while with gaps will be TURNED DOWN while the immigrant from another country will be welcomed aboard the truck with NO CHECK OF HIS WORK HISTORY OR CRIMINAL HISTORY FROM THE COUNTRY HE CAME FROM!!!

 

Going to school is like building a house. You need a good foundation to work from. Sure a monkey can hold a steering wheel. It takes a person with semi-intelligence to know the job inside and out. The good schools cover the regulations. It's amazing the regulations are part of our everyday job and how many drivers are clueless to them. Then they get mad when they get a fine when it's their own ignorance. The one's with the willingness to learn will do much better than the one that thinks he knows it all and has to learn everything the hard way.

The go go go attitude doesn't make you anymore money. If anything it gets you in trouble and costs you money in fines. In 10 years you'll think totally different and get the job done much faster without the go go go attitude. The tortoise and the hare comes to mind.

The reason the placement ratio at colleges is lower is because students seek jobs on their own versus a puppy mill that is an affiliate with the top 10 crappy companies. Sure a college can hook up with Werner, CRE, CRST and make them numbers rise. They are there to give you an education and not looking for a quick out herding you through so they get a quick $500-$1000 referral.

If a study was done I bet you could see a direct correlation between training, company choices and driving safely with a good record. You have 30-40 years to make money. What's a couple weeks if you learn something?

 

Everyone is different . We have members here that had no schooling and just jumped behind the wheel and pretty much taught themselves years ago and have been safe and successful . I have worked for companies that took people out of the warehouse and after a couple of weeks with a driver they were doing fine on their own .
Then you have the ones that spent 4 to 6 weeks at a CDL mill , 4 to 6 weeks with a carrier trainer and they still have problems shifting and backing up .
Those choosing longer schools probably feel they need more learning time .

 

Well I can only speak for myself .. the course we plan to take is 5 weeks at a community college (Crowder) .. Its rank #14 in the country for trucking schools.. and appears to be well respected ..
it located on an old army base and has a skid pad I have heard of several companies that send their drivers there just for the skid pad training which most schools don't have and a trainer cant teach you..... all for about $3125 and has housing and food available for another $600.. sounds like a fair deal to me ... if someone can beat that tell me where ... I have 2 yrs to make my decision(last of the kids will graduate) but this is the best all around deal for schooling I have found so far.. ( I have been researching about 6mo).. and I'm lucky enough its only about hr or so from where I live ..

 

At my son-in-law's company, a friend of his (and a few others) who attended the local college just completed an orientation with some others who went to a very well known, national truck driving, three-week training course. They were talking about the pre-trip when the shop mechanic there began talking about slack adjusters. Three of the guys who went to the local college not only knew what it was, where it was and what it's for but knew the proper angle and adjustment, etc. The two who went to the three-week course were like a deer caught in a headlight.

When safety comes in to play, the more time one takes to prepare the better off we all are since we all share the roads.

 

I agree with that but times are changing in the industry. Before it's over with we'll be held to a much higher standard than now. Companies are already tightening up on their hiring requirements. As technology advances drivers have to learn that stuff and if they can't they'll be out the door. I'd rather someone teach me than trying to figure it out on my own.